Category Archives: Article

2019 Pu’erh from Western Vendors are More Expensive Than Ever. Three Ways to Look at Price.

Posted on December 14, 2019 by

I’ve been updating a spreadsheet on pu’erh prices on release for the past few years in order to get an idea of tea being offered to western consumers and any possible trends. The well-known popular narrative is that fresh pu’erh … Continue reading →

Posted in Article, Raw Pu'erh | Tagged , , , , , | 20 Comments

VORT & VOATO. Nerdy Tea Comparisons.

Posted on November 30, 2019 by

VORP/WAR In sports analytics (baseball and basketball), there’s a couple of new(ish) advanced metrics that have caught traction over the past decade. One is VORP, which stands for Value Over Replacement Player and measures a player’s contribution compared with what … Continue reading →

Posted in Article, Oolong, Raw Pu'erh, Ripe Pu'erh | 6 Comments

Five Things I Like & Dislike. Short-Term Pumidors, B&B Sheng of the Day, Buying Pu’erh on Amazon

Posted on November 16, 2019 by

Five things I like & dislike.

Posted in Article, Oolong, Raw Pu'erh, Ripe Pu'erh | 8 Comments

Storage Methodology & Odor-Free Storage. Things to Watch Out For in a few Popular Western Storage Methods.

Posted on November 2, 2019 by

One pumidor-related topic I contemplate is the correct way to think about the chosen container. Given we store a tea at identical temperature and humidity (say 70F/65RH), if we store the same tea for five years in two different ways, … Continue reading →

Posted in Aged Pu'erh, Article, Raw Pu'erh, Ripe Pu'erh | 8 Comments

Aging Whites & Aged Whites. What I Learned From Char

Posted on October 19, 2019 by

Recently, Char (Oolong Owl) joined me for an inbetweenisode to discuss aging and aged white tea. Aged whites have become a topic of increasing interest in the west, and while Denny and I have brought a few onto the show … Continue reading →

Posted in Aged White Tea, Article, Long-form Article, White Tea | Tagged , | 3 Comments

Sample Upwards! Why You Should Consider Trying Teas You Have No Intention in Buying

Posted on October 5, 2019 by

When I’m buying cakes of tea I tend to gravitate towards certain price ranges and have a mental ceiling of how much I’m willing to spend on tea. It’s not really based off of anything well reasoned or rationalized and … Continue reading →

Posted in Aged Pu'erh, Article, Oolong, Raw Pu'erh | 8 Comments

Boutique Pu’erh. How Much of a Story Does the Top End of the Western Boutique Pu’erh Market Tell?

Posted on September 21, 2019 by

If you follow what gets said about prices each year, you would end up with the impression that the average price of tea has gone up. But more specifically the price at the most sought after regions (say Lao Banzhang, … Continue reading →

Posted in Article, Raw Pu'erh | Tagged , , , , | 8 Comments

Five Things I Like & Dislike. China as a Monolith, Tea Instagram, Small Vendors Selling Semi-Aged Pu’erh

Posted on September 7, 2019 by

Five more things I like & dislike.

Posted in Article, Oolong, Raw Pu'erh | 2 Comments

Why Simple Storage Solution are Often A Better Fit for the Western Hobbyist

Posted on August 24, 2019 by

If you stick around the western pu’erh scene long enough, you’ll hear about people setting up a variety of different storage setups. Unfortunately there is only a light track record for us to draw on. A handful of 10-15 year … Continue reading →

Posted in Aged Pu'erh, Article, Raw Pu'erh | 2 Comments

A Few Considerations in a Group Session

Posted on August 10, 2019 by

I’ve had the opportunity to participate and host a number of group sessions since I got into tea. The context varies.. Some have been with a couple people unfamiliar with tea, others are with regular tea friends. This article on … Continue reading →

Posted in Aged Pu'erh, Article, Oolong, Raw Pu'erh, Ripe Pu'erh | 1 Comment